Yagyû ichizoku no inbô (1978)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Kinji Fukasaku

Writers:

Kinji Fukasaku (writer)
Hirô Matsuda (writer)

Release Date:

7 December 1984 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Following the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers...

Plot Keywords:

Dark Hero | Samurai Warrior | Zen | Samurai | Eye Patch

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Kinnosuke Nakamura	...	Yagyu Tajima (as Kinnosuke Yorozuya Nakamura)
Sonny Chiba	...	Yagyu Jubei
Hiroki Matsukata	...	Iemitsu Tokugawa (Older Prince)
Teruhiko Saigo	...	Tadanaga Tokugawa (Younger Prince)
Reiko Ohara	...	Okuni (Singer)
Yoshio Harada	...	Sanza Nagoya (Flute Player)
Etsuko Shihomi	...	Yagyu Akane (Yagyu Sister)
Kentaro Kudo	...	Yagyu Matajuro (Yagyu Brother)
Jirô Chiba	...	Yagyu Samon (Yagyu Brother) (as Jiro Yabuki)
Hideo Murota	...	Sagenta Nogero (Leader of Negoro Clan)
Mayumi Asano	...	Mon (Fighter of Negoro Clan)
Hiroyuki Sanada	...	Hayate (Fighter of Negoro Clan)
Ichiro Nakatani	...	Gyobu Amano (Masterless Samurai)
Tetsuro Tamba	...	Ogasawara Gensinsai (Tajima's Rival)
Etsushi Takahashi	...	Matsudaira Izu (Iemitsu's Chamberlain)

Also Known As:

Intrigue of the Yagyu Clan (International: English title) (literal title)
The Shogun's Samurai (USA)
The Yagyu Conspiracy
Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (USA)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16

Company:

Toei Company

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Great chanbara!

I do not know if this movie was made from the first three episodes of the "Yagyuu Conspiracy" TV series or the start of the series made out of the movie, or it was all shot with the idea of the film being a feeder for the series.

In any case, the movie has the same dynamic cast and excellent story cohesion the series featured (my all-time favorite chanbara series). Production values are high, characters interesting (especially the antagonist, imperial noble Kurasumaru, who is an equally dedicated and loyal servant, just of an opposing side), and the plot far more coherent than many Asian offerings. The fight choreography is dynamic yet plausible, but this is not just a string of fight scenes. The setting is a civil war between two sons of a just-dead shogun, and the movie does not slight the importance of politics and maneuvering the powerful nobles into one's camp. On top of this, the third side of the imperial nobles is trying to use the shogun wannabes to weaken the power of the shogunate and restore actual power to the Emperor. This, rather than the Streetfighter movies, made me a Sonny Chiba fan. When can we get this on DVD with English subtitles? (Personally, I hate most dubbing on films. I can read fast enough for subtitles and I prefer hearing the original actor's delivery.)